


Maboroshi

by Ariss_Tenoh



Category: CLAMP - Works, Tokyo Babylon, X -エックス- | X/1999
Genre: Complete, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-27
Updated: 2014-05-27
Packaged: 2018-01-26 19:10:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1699388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ariss_Tenoh/pseuds/Ariss_Tenoh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Sakura is seen as a symbol of transient beauty but there is more to it than that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Dec 23rd 2001 and titled "Illusions of Sakura."

My senses awaken and my powers unfold.

 

Your presence has stirred me from the depths of my slumber.

 

At last, you have come.  
Too long have I waited for you.

 

Through my mind's eye, I watch you.

 

You take a few steps towards me,  
then you stop.

 

Why are you hesitating?

 

I wonder. Is it in fear of what is to come?  
Or is it in pain of memories past?

 

It is true. We share an inexplicable and intricate bond  
with one another.

 

I have been to you what a human mother would have   
to her child.

 

Watchful. Omnipresent. Regarding your every move  
with interest that is unnatural to me.

 

And perhaps..  
with a touch of affection as well.

 

For I was there when you first met "him".

 

I witnessed his marking of you.  
I even lingered to see your grandmother's shock and horror  
before she unravelled my spectre.

 

I was there at your second encounter with him.

 

I was there when your sister sacrificed herself for you.

 

Even at your final meeting with him,  
I was present.

 

I have always been there.  
With you, for you.

 

So come child.

 

Come to me...

 

~To Be Continued~


	2. Chapter 2

I await. Still,  
you do not come to me.

 

So...I entice you.

 

I allow some of my petals to fall and rouse a wind to carry them,  
along with tendrils of my power,  
to you.

 

The pink petals blow against you. You raise one hand to shield you eyes,  
and when you lower it to look at me again,  
your eyes widen in surprise, sadness, and longing  
as you behold the image I have woven for you.

 

Yes.  
I knew you would like it.

 

As if in a dream, you walk towards me.  
Your steps slow and unhurried.

 

More of my petals pass you by,  
spreading the dark veil of a cast maboroshi.  
It sweeps away our surroundings.  
Everything,  
including reality itself  
as it leaves us alone in my illusory world.

 

Slightly, I weaken the wards which encircle me for an opening  
for you to draw near. 

 

And you slip past the defences,  
unharmed.

 

At last, I have you.

 

You gaze at me with hopeful eyes.

 

But it isn't I who you see,  
but it is I who smile.

 

My senses wander over you in admiring scrutiny.

 

I would sigh if I could. Truly,  
you are beautiful.

 

You are lean and slender as a sapling. Your hair black  
as my boughs are when kissed by rain.

 

I extend a branch,  
laden with pink blossoms,  
to caress your cheek.

 

You look at me with questioning eyes.

 

I smile, but it is not I  
who you see smiling. 

 

You smile in return, but again  
it is not at me you smile.

 

Your skin is soft to my touch,  
soft like my petals and white as they once were.

 

The mismatched eyes are your most alluring feature.  
One has lost its emerald lustre,  
still,  
it shines brighter than my verdant leaves at summer.

 

Its sister is a winter's white,  
blind and broken.

 

Just like your heart.

 

Although your heart is shattered,  
I can yet sense remnants of its loving and compassionate flame.

 

No matter. A few hunts and those embers  
will burn to ashes.

 

Allowing you to become what you will.

 

The next Sakurazukamori.

 

I should thank "him".

 

While I ceaselessly asked for your blood and soul,  
he counselled me to patience.

 

He promised that I would have you as more than a sacrifice.

 

His words were not false.  
You've become more than a mere offering to me.  
Much more.

 

I am called forth from my thoughts as you turn to my caress,  
lips brushing against my blossoms in a phantom kiss.

 

In my mind's eye,  
I smile in satisfaction.

 

I reach and pull you closer.  
Wordlessly,  
you submit to my attentions and envelop me in you arms.

 

I did not expect it to be otherwise.

 

Your sister's soul may have escaped me,  
but I had ensnared your soul long  
before I did your body.

 

Moments drift by, and for a time  
we linger in the curious warmth of an embrace.

 

You lean more into me.

 

You are tired. And I know it is more an exhaustion of the heart  
than that of the body. 

 

In a slow and gentle manner,  
I withdraw the branches from around your frail body,  
lowering you to the ground.

 

Your long thin legs spread on a carpet of pink,  
before you draw them near to yourself  
as you do your arms.

 

A shudder ripples through you.

 

Why? Is it because of the maboroshi's coldness?  
Or is it in fear of losing what you now possess?

 

Thin branches wrap you in a loose,  
yet protective embrace.  
A rain of fallen flowers covers most of your body  
like a blanket.

 

A wind whispers reassuring words to you,  
words you want to hear  
in a voice you long to hear.

 

"Now and for today, sleep... For I'll stay by your side.  
Even if anyone comes to disturb you, I'll chase them away."

 

Don't worry, I am here.

 

You will sustain me with bodies and souls,  
and I will you...  
with the illusion of the one you hold so dear.

 

We are each other's sustenance.

 

Sakura and Sakurazukamori.

 

It is as it should be.

 

I gaze down at you.

 

Sleeping so peacefully in the knowledge that you are  
beloved and protected.

 

Often, I have observed with interest  
the children who come to Ueno park.

 

No matter how far they wandered, ran, and played,  
in the end,  
they would return to their mothers' protective arms.

 

Finally, you have returned to me.

 

My child.

 

My Sakurazukamori.

 

Mine.

~ End ~


End file.
